1. Field
The disclosed embodiments relate to a jet engine for an aircraft. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to a jet engine intended to be mounted in an aft position on the fuselage of an aircraft. The disclosed embodiments also relate to a way of mounting the jet engine on an aircraft.
The disclosed embodiments can generally be applied in the aeronautical field and, more particularly, to supersonic aircraft, the fuselage diameter of which is small.
2. Brief Description
An aircraft generally comprises one or more stabilizers situated in the upper aft section of the fuselage of said aircraft. For example, an aircraft comprises a vertical stabilizer and two horizontal stabilizers, or only two stabilizers set obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft. These stabilizers are required to provide stability for the aircraft in its flight path. The stabilizers are fastened directly to the upper aft section of the fuselage.
Also known are aircraft provided with at least three jet engines. Each wing is provided at its underside with at least one jet engine. An additional jet engine, referred to as an aft jet engine in the following, is situated in the aft section of the aircraft fuselage at the aft vertical stabilizer of said aircraft. The vertical stabilizer is fastened directly on the structure of the aircraft via semicircular hoops forming the supporting structure of the vertical stabilizer. More precisely, the vertical stabilizer is connected at its left side to the left side of the fuselage by a first set of hoops and at its right side to the right side of the fuselage by a second set of hoops. The semicircular hoops of the two sets are arranged in pairs, on either side of the stabilizer, so as to form a circular cylindrical housing into which the aft jet engine is slid. The aft jet engine itself is then attached directly to the fuselage of the aircraft by a second supporting structure and also to the hoops of the vertical stabilizer.
The hoops must form a sufficiently large housing to accommodate the aft jet engine within its diameter. The wider the aft jet engine, the larger must be the housing, a situation which tends to create considerable aerodynamic drag at the rear of the fuselage. The aerodynamic drag is commensurately greater as the diameter of the jet engine increases with respect to the diameter of the fuselage in the aft section. For example, it is not currently possible for a large-diameter subsonic jet engine to be integrated at the rear of the fuselage of a supersonic aircraft, the fuselage diameter of which is small, especially in the aft section, since the aerodynamic drag created by the supporting structures forming the fastening system of the prior art would then be excessive.
Moreover, the vertical stabilizer and the aft jet engine each have an independent supporting structure for connecting them independently of one another to the fuselage of the aircraft. These multiplied supporting structures tend to considerably increase the total mass of the aircraft.